If you were a kid in the early '90s, you know Danielle Fishel. She was a staple of ABC's TGIF lineup as the sexy-but-smart Topanga Lawrence on Boy Meets World. When the show finally wrapped in 2000 (after Topanga had married Ben Savage's character, Cory Matthews, to become Topanga Lawrence-Matthews, but it's not like I was obsessed with the show or anything), Danielle acted in a series of independent films before landing a correspondent gig on Tyra Banks' talk show.

Now, she's returning to the small screen full-time as the host of The Dish on the Style network. The Dish is a weekly wrap-up of entertainment and fashion events with a humorous slant (think The Soup with more high heels).

The show premieres on Saturday, August 21, so I sat down with Danielle to chat about all things style, and also to get the dirt on her relationship with Lance Bass (she dated him before he was out of the closet!) and the DUI that made headlines last year.

Film.com: I have to ask you a question that I've wanted to ask you since I was a kid: You have to tell me what you do to get that great hair. I've always been obsessed with your hair.

Danielle Fishel: Oh, you're so cute! I don't do anything to my hair. The one thing I'll say is that I never use any products. I don't use a flatiron, and I don't wash it every day. I think any time you're using a hairdryer on it every day, or a flatiron on it every day or when you use too many products, that stuff's just not healthy. Truly, I'm terrible to my hair. I get it cut like twice a year. I don't really have a particular shampoo -- I just use whatever's in the shower or whatever I find in the grocery store that's on sale! To be honest, it's definitely a feature of mine that I do feel I'm lucky to have. I did luck out in the hair department, but everything else is a challenge.

Film.com: You've been known as an actress in the past. Were you always interested in getting into hosting? Where are you most comfortable?

DF: The reason I wanted to get into hosting, in all honesty, is that I didn't feel there were a whole lot of projects, either on television or in movies, that I really wanted to do. There's not a lot of great television going on as far as acting goes. I mean, there are some good roles out there, but I'm either too young for them, or too old for them, or casting directors aren't considering me for them because I may be a little more typecast than someone else. So, for me, hosting seems like a natural progression. Plus, from the time I was young, people always told me -- doing the TGIF promos and things like that -- "If you ever wanted to change careers, you should be a newscaster or a host." I'm pretty natural just being myself in front of the camera. Once I started working for Tyra and realized what a great job it was, it became a major passion of mine.

Film.com: So what's Tyra like behind the scenes?

DF: I think there are many Tyras. The Tyra you see on America's Next Top Model, she feels like that's a character she's playing. That's a fun show for her to do, because she gets to be a completely different Tyra. Then there's the talk-show Tyra where you get to see her sense of humor and her sympathetic side. I think Tyra is one of the smartest businesswomen I've ever met, and I've never had a bad experience with her. She's been nothing but great to me, and helpful and encouraging.

Film.com: Who are your style icons right now?

DF: I absolutely love Rachel Bilson's style. I think she just always looks so effortlessly put-together. I think she always manages to look sexy without looking tarty, or without looking like she tried too hard. And looking comfortable at the same time. Those are three things that are very difficult to do together. I really admire that. And I love Angelina Jolie's style, too, especially lately. When she was pregnant, she had all of those ethereal gowns she was wearing, and very flowy with her long, dark hair.

Film.com: What's one fashion trend right now that you can't stand?

DF: I'm not a fan of the super, super high-waisted pants. I have a very short waist, so I need something that elongates my waist a little more.

Film.com: Katie Holmes has recently been photographed wearing those peg-and-roll jeans, and the LA Times did a piece on how that look is coming back. What's your take on that?

DF: Awful. Absolutely awful. How do we boycott this? How do we create a rally and say, "We're not going to take it anymore!" No. I say no. I'm putting my foot down. The real women of the world need to put out a statement saying, "No. We're not going to accept this. Change to something else. Find a different trend you want us to follow!"

Film.com: Awesome. I'm going to quote you on that. Now we're gonna get a little more personal. You dated Lance Bass before he was openly gay. I just have to ask you: Were you guys sleeping together? What was the physical part of it like for you?

DF: No, we were not sleeping together. We never slept together. I was seventeen. I was a really good girl. I didn't lose my virginity until much later in life. Lance and I talked about the fact that we weren't going to sleep together, and his reason was, you know, "I'm always on the road. We don't get to spend as much time together as we'd like, and this is going to be a really special time in your life. I don't want to share something that intimate and then take off and leave for a month." Which, at seventeen years old, I completely respected. We traveled a lot together, once I turned eighteen, and we stayed in the same room, but we never did actually consummate the relationship.

Film.com: But you guys are still close friends?

DF: Yes, we're very close friends. I absolutely adore him, and I have a great amount of respect for him -- just, in general, as a person, and I have a whole separate respect for him for being so courageous to come out with his story. I think he probably helped a lot more people than he realizes. I would not have changed a single thing about [our relationship]. He was such a good boyfriend to me.

Film.com: You were out of the spotlight for awhile after Boy Meets World, and then you were thrust back in with a DUI. What was that process like for you?

DF: The weirdest part about it was that the DUI happened three and a half years before it became public. So, when the DUI happened, I thought, "OK, this is something that's now going to be made public," and it never was. And I was thankful that I was able to deal with it privately. I was appreciative of that. And then, three and a half years later, there was a warrant out for my arrest that I knew nothing about, and I got pulled over for having tinted windows. And that's when it all became public. That was shocking to me, because I thought that I had overcome it. The drunk driving thing was a one-time event that I've absolutely learned from. But I felt like I was being punished all over again, and worse so the second time around. But I believe you need to take responsibility for your actions. I screwed up, I got a DUI, and I'll never make that mistake again. Overall, I think it'll turn out to be a good thing for me.

Film.com: Yeah, I have to say that you did handle it about as well as a situation like that could be handled. You're certainly not the first celebrity to get a DUI.

DF: I appreciate that. It is something that I will never, ever do again. It sucks that I had to learn that lesson the hard way, but I will never make that mistake again.

Film.com: It's not the hardest way you can learn that lesson.

DF: It definitely could have been worse. Nobody was injured. In fact, when I got pulled over for my DUI, it wasn't because I was swerving or speeding. I got pulled over because I didn't have my new registration sticker on my license. I wasn't out of control; I didn't injure anybody. It definitely could have been much worse. But that's a terrifying situation, being arrested for something like that. You feel so guilty.

Film.com: Well, I just have to reiterate that I'm a huge fan. I called all my girlfriends to tell them I was going to get to talk to you today, and everyone was so excited about it. We feel like we grew up with you.

DF: Aw, thank you so much!

Film.com: Thank you!

Catch Danielle on The Dish starting this Saturday on the Style network.

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